The Wolf Within
by dreamers4eva
Summary: James and his friends have no idea what is wrong with Remus, why he disappears once a month. They are about to find out...MARUADERS ERA
1. Chapter 1

"Do you think this is a good idea? I don't really think this is a good idea. What if we get caught? What if we get expelled? What if-"

"Oh shut up Wormtail!" James hissed. "We won't get caught as long as you shut your mouth long enough so that I can hear if anyone's coming."

"Besides where's your Gryffindor sense of adventure?" smirked Sirius.

Peter looked far from reassured. His eyes nervously darted from the deserted corridor ahead of them to the closed classroom doors to the sleeping pictures on the walls as though any second a teacher was going to jump out at him and tell him he was expelled. "But what-"

"Ssshhh," whispered James as he pulled his friends into an empty classroom on his left. The sound of footsteps and hushed voices growing louder on the other side of the door had the three friends holding their breaths.

_Just keep walking. Please don't come in here. Please,_ prayed James silently, straining his ears to hear whoever it was that was coming closer and closer all the time. It was only after a minute or so that James realised that his prayer had been answered and the footsteps were getting quieter all the time; moving away from them.

"Come on," murmured James opening the door and creeping along the corridor in the direction of the footsteps. He heard Peters' quiet groan that was quickly silenced by a deadly glare from Sirius.

As they turned the corner they saw two people that were clearly adults, probably teachers, wearing long cloaks with the hoods covering their faces. But it was the much smaller person in the middle of these two adults that had caused these three students to sneak out of their beds well past curfew on a cold, dark night. The child was also wearing a cloak but with the hood down so that the boys could clearly see his light brown hair and nervous face. The group were already down the stairs and crossing the entrance hall towards the doors leading to the grounds.

"It's definitely him," said Sirius quietly.

"Where are they taking him?" Peter squeaked, looking as though he was on the verge of giving himself a heart attack.

James and Sirius exchanged a glance. "I don't know but we are going to find out." James took the first few determined steps to follow them.

"I don't think so Mr Potter."

James and Sirius grimaced at the sound of the stern but familiar voice behind them while Peter looked so terrified that James thought it was a miracle he hadn't actually wet himself.

They turned around to come face to face with a very angry looking Professor McGonagall. "Come with me." With half a glance back towards the entrance hall, the boys reluctantly followed McGonagall who was walking at a brisk pace to her office.

When they arrived she shut the door with a snap. "Sit," she ordered as she herself sat behind her desk. As soon as the three friends had taken their usual places on the other side of the desk McGonagall started to question them.

"What were you doing out of your beds after curfew?"

None of the boys answered. Both James and Sirius, having been in this room many times before, were furiously trying to think of a buyable cover story but Peter just looked too scared to open his mouth.

"Where did you think you were going?"

Still none of them answered. James already knew that there was really no talking his way out of this one but staying quiet would at least delay his fate for a little bit longer.

"Did you really think that you would get away with this?"

When she received no answer for the third time, McGonagall glared at all of them and then her eyes rested on Peter who was visibly shaking with fear. Sensing a weak link she changed her tact.

"Do you realise how much trouble you are in?" She asked in a low voice, her eyes never leaving Peter. James realised what she was doing straight away. She knew that him and Sirius could sit there all night without saying a word but Peter….

"We just…..erm….well….errr……we were….."

James looked from Peter to Sirius who rolled his eyes and gave him a defeated look. James decided it was time for him to cut in.

"We were just looking for something to eat. We were hungry," he said simply.

McGonagall looked from James to Peter who nodded weakly agreeing with James before becoming very interested in his clasped hands.

"Again?"

"What?"

"You were all hungry enough to wander the corridors at night again?"

It was only then that James realised this was the same excuse he had used last time they got caught out at night but it was too late to turn back now.

"Well we are growing boys you see professor. We need to-"

"Black, that's enough." With a last look at them all she continued. "I'm taking 30 points from Gryffindor for refusing to tell me the truth and your inability to follow the _simplest_ of rules."

"But Professor-"

"No buts Potter. I will see all three of you in detention at 7 o' clock tomorrow and every night for the rest of this week. This is the last time I catch any of you out of bed after curfew, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor."

"Now I will escort you back to Gryffindor tower to ensure that you get there and, this time, you stay there."


	2. Chapter 2

**So heres part 2, this ones a little bit longer hope you all like it!**

**Thanks to Yvonne Park for the review.**

**Disclaimer: I dont own any of the characters im just borrowing them for a while :P**

"Remind me why you three have got detention again?"

The next day at dinner Remus looked around at his three friends wondering how on earth they had managed to once again land themselves a weeks worth of detentions when he had only left them alone for a single night.

"Well we were just exploring the castle when McGonagall caught us," covered James. "We would have let you come too but we couldn't find you. Where did you say you were?"

"Yes but if I had gone with you, I would also have a detention tonight," replied Remus evasively. It had been a rough night and he knew that his friends would have noticed his pale face, tired eyes and the scratches that covered his body. However they did not ask about it; whether it was because they knew he wouldn't tell them or because they knew he wouldn't tell them the truth. Remus hated lying to them but he couldn't tell them the truth. He _wouldn't_.

"You didn't answer the question," said Sirius narrowing his eyes.

"Didn't I? Well I…erm….I fell asleep in the library again. Speaking of which, I have to go. Lots of work to do." With that Remus got up and left the Great Hall.

"Do you ever get the feeling that he's hiding something from us?" asked Sirius sarcastically.

"We need to find out what he's up to but we can't get caught following him again. McGonagall would throw a fit."

"Or we could just leave him alone?" Peter, who had been shovelling food in his mouth through the entire conversation, asked the question without really thinking only to find James and Sirius looking at him incredulously. "It was only a…..a thought."

"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't find out what he is up to?" asked James a smirk on his face. "The only question is how are we going to find out?"

"Yeah following him hasn't exactly worked out well so far has it?" said Sirius running his hand through his hair.

"Not exactly no. All we found out from last night is that the teachers must be in on it and Peter can't lie to teacher to save his life."

"Who said the teachers were in on it? I couldn't see who he was with could you?"

"No, but if they weren't McGonagall have caught them at it by now and they weren't exactly sneaky about it were they. I mean its not like they don't do it very often is it? It happens every month."

"Okay I agree. The teachers must be in on it. So that means he must have a good reason for it. But then again its Remus, of course he has a good reason for it," Sirius said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah he isn't known for his spontaneous rebellion is he?" laughed James.

"We could just ask him," suggested Peter nervously.

"Pettigrew weren't you paying attention?" asked Sirius. "We tried that and he just makes up some lame excuse and leaves the room."

"Which must mean that it's a big deal; otherwise he'd just tell us right?"

"But why wouldn't he tell us anyway? I mean we _are_ supposed to be his friends," said Peter.

"I dunno," said James deep in thought. "Maybe he's not proud of whatever it is."

"Yeah it would make sense if he was ashamed of it," stated Sirius.

"But what could it be?"

The detention with McGonagall lasted hours and after it was over both James and Sirius had a lot of work to catch up on. Peter having already copied what Remus had done earlier in the night had gone to bed and James and Sirius were left alone in the common room.

"I hate McGonagall," huffed Sirius, flicking lazily through _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._

"Hhmm," said James as he added something to his essay.

"I can't even remember what I'm looking for," cried Sirius putting the book down and reaching for his own half-finished essay.

"You're looking for Red Caps and how to repel them," recited James without looking up.

"Oh yeah." Sirius picked the book back up and flicked through to the index but on his way he saw a picture that caught his eye. He stopped looking at it. It was a picture of a man half covered in fur and his arms stuck out at weird angles; his face was screwed up in agony. The caption read:

_The transformation of a werewolf can sometimes be a painful experience for the witch or wizard, illustrated by….._

"Oi James. Look at this," said Sirius holding out the book for James to see. James winced at the picture.

"Looks bloody painful too. Imagine going through that every mon-" James froze as it clicked. "You don't think…."

"What?" Sirius looked thoroughly confused by his friend's behaviour but James didn't reply; he just sat there staring at the picture with wide eyes. "I don't think what?"

"You don't think Remus is a….a….."

Then it hit Sirius too. "A werewolf? Your losing it." Sirius tried to laugh it off.

"But he goes away every month and he's always covered in cuts and bruises. What if…."

Sirius looked unsure but then a thought struck him. "One way to find out," he said as he ran up to his dormitory to retrieve a piece of homework he did a few weeks ago.

When he came back down he saw James looking at him in confusion.

"What's that?" he asked.

"This is a lunar chart that we did for Astronomy. If Remus is a werewolf then he would be away every month for the full moon right?" James nodded moving their discarded homework to one side.

"Was last night a full moon?"

"Let's see…..erm…" Sirius muttered to himself as he began to work it out and then his face paled. He nodded.

"What about the time last month?"

Once again Sirius muttered under his breath as he worked it out, attempting to decipher his untidy scribbles. Once again he nodded.

"What about before that?"

They did this 5 more times before they came to the only possible conclusion: Remus Lupin was a werewolf.


	3. Chapter 3

**So heres part 3 - this is the final part so read it and let me know what you think because if enough people read and review i will probably write another story about the marauders so all ideas, comments, criticisms, etc are welcome :P**

**Disclainer: i still dont own anything from Harry Potter :(**

James and Sirius decided to confront Remus the next day and they would not leave him alone until he gave them a definite, honest answer. They had debated for a long time whether or not they should tell Peter. Peter had proven countless times what a horrible liar he was so if anyone was going to blurt it out in front of everyone it would be him. On the other hand, he was their friend and he was just as concerned about Remus as they were so he had a right to know.

They told him before breakfast with the threat that if he so much as breathed a word of it to anyone they would attack him with the most creative jinxes that they could think of. Sirius even went so far as to describe one of these particular jinxes to Peter in great detail to make sure that he got the message.

Together they walked into the Great Hall, spotted Remus and walked over to him. James and Sirius sat on either side of him while Peter sat across from him to minimise his chances of escaping.

"Hi guys. You ready for Transfiguration this morning?" Remus asked, disturbed by how they were all staring at him.

"Remus we know," said James.

"Know what?" Remus looked confused.

"We _know_," James tried again.

Remus still looked as though he had no idea what they were talking about. Sirius glanced around making sure nobody was paying them any attention and then said, "We know you're a werewolf."

"What?!" choked Remus. He looked terrified. "What are you……._how_ could you…"

"We figured it out," said Peter loudly, looking quite pleased with himself until Sirius kicked him under the table.

"But-"

"Why didn't you tell us Remus?" James looked genuinely hurt as he said this which shocked Remus more than anything else.

"Are you joking?" spluttered Remus. Sirius, the first to sense danger, got up pulling Remus with him.

"Come on," he muttered. He walked out of the Great Hall and into the first empty classroom he could find; still pulling Remus along in his wake with James and Peter following.

Once the door was closed, they all turned to Remus who looked as though he were bracing himself for the worst.

"I suppose you all hate me now," he mumbled.

"What?" asked James assuming that he had heard wrong.

"Well who would want to be friends with a….a….you know."

"Why the hell would we waste our time getting house points knocked off and sitting through endless detentions for someone we didn't want to be friends with?"

"You mean…" Remus didn't dare say it; he wouldn't let himself believe it.

"Of course we still want to be friends with you. You idiot!" said Sirius. Remus looked as though Christmas had come early.

"Really?"

"Yep," Peter said happily. Remus turned to him and saw that even he was standing there resolute.

"The only question now is: how are we going to manage to sneak out with you?"


End file.
